Athens, along with Eretria, supported rebellions by Ionian cities in Persian territory in Asia Minor. Persia determined to stop this by installing a puppet Athenian tyrant in Athens, and sent an expeditionary force in 490 to enforce this. The expedition READ MORE

There are several: To provide the squabbling Greek city states he had tentatively united with a common enemy to focus on; To fulfil his dreams and ambitions; To gain control of the fabled wealth and power of the Persian Emperor; READ MORE

Greek culture was not spread by the Peloponnesian War. That war involved the already-spread Greek world which existed from Spain through the Mediterranean to Asia Minor and the Black Sea. The aftermath of the war left the Greek world badly READ MORE